Jedi mind tricks. As a power, they’re downright awesome, but back in the aftermath of Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm – and the subsequent announcement of a Star Wars: Episode VII – they proved invaluable for J.J. Abrams. The film and TV intellect was able to hide in plain sight by denying any interest in the hotly anticipated reboots, however, in a recent interview with Empire (the magazine, not the galactic menace), he talks honestly about his decision to leave one ‘Star’ franchise for the other.
Here’s what he had to say:
“I don’t know because we’re just getting started. There are infinitely more questions than answers right now, but to me, they’re not that dissimilar. I feel like I can identify a hunger for what I would want to see again and that is an incredibly exciting place to begin a project. The movies, the worlds could not be more different but that feeling that there’s something amazing here is the thing that they share.”
Something amazing. The excitement you can feel ahead of the 2015 release is palpable; after all, Abrams is stepping into the biggest franchise of all time, one that comes packaged with a colossal built-in audience. In saying that, if the director’s back catalogue is anything to go by, Abrams knows a thing or two about handling gushing fanboy hype. In overseeing the popular TV series Lost, the 46 year old needed to have a sleight of hand while stoking internet rumours with his distinctive and cryptic viral marketing.
In taking up the Star Wars mantle on January 27th, the director left himself no choice but to step down as overseer on board the Star Trek franchise. A decision met with varied responses from Trekkies, considering that some criticised his cinematic interpretation of Star Trek in 2009 for only scratching the surface of the fictional universe. Still, Abrams understands his creative transition and has stated that we wants to produce the third Star Trek film.
On the other side of the galaxy, though, there is no lack of internet rumours – in fact, accurate casting details are more akin to endangered animals – so we still know very little about the new trilogy. With the much maligned prequels still fresh in people’s memories, let’s hold out hope that J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII can, in time, co-exist happily with the original trilogy.
